Most television viewers now receive their television signals through a content aggregator such as a cable or satellite television provider. For subscribers to a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service, for example, television programming is received via a broadcast that is sent via a satellite to an antenna that is generally located on the exterior of a home or other structure. Other customers receive television programming through a cable, wireless or other medium. Programming is typically received at a receiver such as a “set top box” (STB) that demodulates the received signals and that converts the demodulated content into a format that can be presented to the viewer on a television or other display.
More recently, consumers have expressed significant interest in “place shifting” devices that allow viewing of television or other media content at locations other than their primary television set. Place shifting devices typically packetize media content that can be transmitted over a local or wide area network to a portable computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant or other remote device capable of playing back the packetized media stream for the viewer. Placeshifting therefore allows consumers to view their media content from remote locations such as hotel rooms, offices, or any other locations where portable media player devices can gain access to a wireless or other communications network.
While placeshifting does greatly improve the convenience afforded to the viewer, the inherently insecure nature of many communications networks (such as the Internet) continues to pose challenges. That is, while it remains desirable to allow consumers to place shift their media playing experience, it is also desirable to ensure that only authorized users and players are allowed access to valuable media content.
It is therefore desirable to create systems and methods for securely placeshifting media content from a place shifting device to a remote media player. These and other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background section.